Women's Soccer Coaches
Norm Riker- First Season
Norm Riker's Career Achievements
Head Coach Connecticut College Women’s Soccer: 2011 – Present
Head Coach Wittenberg University Women’s Soccer: 2002 – 2010
Head Coach (interim) Vassar College Women’s Soccer: 2000
2007 NSCAA DIII Great Lakes Regional Coach of Year
NSCAA Premier Diploma
USSF “B” License
Career record as a Head Coach: 123 – 67 – 27
Four NCAA appearance as a Coach (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09)
Career NCAA Tournament Record: 3-3-2
Coached Four NSCAA ALL-AMERICANS
Norm Riker was named the head women's soccer coach at Connecticut College July 1. Riker compiled an impressive 108-51-25 record as the head coach at Wittenberg University, directing the program to its first four appearances in the NCAA Championship tournament from 2006-2009. Riker says he looks forward to working with Connecticut College student-athletes and competing in the NESCAC.
"The NESCAC is incredibly competitive for women's soccer," Riker said. "With the high level of competition and the caliber of student-athletes attracted to Connecticut College, I'm confident the Camels can become a force in Division III. I am honored and excited to be the next women's soccer coach at Connecticut College. Connecticut College and the region hold life long memories and countless connections to family and friends for us. I look forward to my days of coaching on Tempel Green."
At Wittenberg, Riker directed the program to seven consecutive appearances in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) playoffs and four consecutive conference crowns. The Tigers climbed to as high as No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national poll and have been consistently ranked among the top 25 in the nation.
Riker's success on the field can only be rivaled by his team's efforts in the classroom. The Tigers have received seven NSCAA Team Academic Awards under his tutelage and his teams have consistently carried a mean grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Fran Shields, Connecticut College's Katherine Wenk Christoffers '45 Director of Athletics and chair of physical education, says Riker is a highly respected soccer professional who will bring a fresh perspective to the soccer program.
"We are thrilled to add Norm Riker to our talented coaching staff," Shields said. "Norm rebuilt Wittenberg's program in the very competitive North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). We're confident he'll follow the same trajectory with our program within the NESCAC."
Midfielder Jill Cote, a Connecticut College rising senior who was a member of the search committee, anticipates an exciting future for Camel soccer under Riker's leadership.
"Coach Riker's experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm about the game of soccer, set him apart from the other potential candidates," Cote said. "He is eager to take our program to the next level in the NESCAC with his innovative strategies and contagious work ethic. With his direction, he will have an instant impact on our team."
Riker earned a Bachelor of Arts at Springfield College in 1992 and went on to receive a Master of Professional Studies in Education from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
A native of Block Island, R.I., Riker's arrival in New London will be a homecoming of sorts. Riker and his wife Gabrielle N. Antoniadis Riker, Connecticut College Class of 1989, have two daughters, Isabelle and Sofia.
Tania Armellino - Assistant Coach - First Season
Tania Armellino enters her first season as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at Connecticut College in 2011.
Prior to arriving at Connecticut College, Armellino spent three seasons as the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. While there, Armellino helped guide the Flyers to a combined record of 50-10-8. In 2009, she helped lead the team to one of the best seasons in program history. The Flyers went undefeated in the regular season, captured the Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title, the A10 Conference Tournament Championship, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and finished with a NSCAA 25th post-season national ranking.
Armellino also helped to coach the program's first ever NSCAA 1st Team All-American, Mandi Bäck. In 2010, the Flyers finished 19-3-1 and once again captured the Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title and Conference Tournament Championship, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Armellino also coached A10 Offensive Player of the Year and NSCAA 2nd Team All-American, Colleen Williams. While Armellino specialized in the program's defense, the Flyers broke the school shutout record with a total of 15 shutouts in 2009, and in 2010 she coached Hermann Trophy Candidate, A10 Defensive Player of the Year, and NSCAA 2nd Team All-American, Kathleen Beljan.
Prior to Dayton, Armellino spent two seasons as the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. In 2006, Armellino helped lead the team to its first ever North Coast Athletic Conference Regular Season Title, its first ever NCAA Tournament berth, and its first ever NCAA win, making it to the 2nd round of the Tournament. Again focusing on team defense, Armellino helped the Kenyon Ladies to tie the school record for most shutouts in a season with 10. She helped coach five All-NCAC 1st Team Selections, two All-Great Lakes Region 1st Team honorees, and in 2007 helped the team achieve its first ever national ranking coming in at NSCAA #23.
In 2001, Armellino was a Student Assistant for the Rutgers University Women's Soccer Program. While with the team, Rutgers achieved one of its best seasons in school history, reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the program's inception. The team finished 14-8-1 overall, 4-1-1 in the Big East, and boasted 3rd Team NSCAA All-American & Big East Rookie of the Year, Carli Lloyd.
In addition to her college coaching stints, Armellino has worked at the youth level with the Dayton Soccer Academy/Team Dayton soccer club, as head coach of the program's U17 & U18 teams (DSA Black), and the club's U15 teams (Team Dayton Black). Armellino also joined the USYSA Olympic Development Program in 2009 as the Assistant Girls' State Coach for the Ohio South State Team.
Armellino was a defender and four year letter winner with the Rutgers University Women's Soccer Program from 1997-2000. She was a two-time captain while at RU, and achieved Big East Conference Academic All-Star honors from 1998-2000, as well as earned the Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete Award and President's Award in the 1998 season.
Armellino graduated cum laude from Rutgers University in 2001 with a B.A. in English. She then went on to the University of Miami School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor in 2005. Armellino currently holds a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national diploma.
Last Modified: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 9:59 AM